1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotating fluid machine for reversible operation from turbine to pump and vice-versa. Previous machines operating as pumps and turbines have usually been divided into two basic categories: Axial and radial, to which we must add the category of reciprocating pumps. The Pelton wheel turbine stands almost alone as a volumetric efficiency turbine, while other turbines show volumetric losses that are even higher, as a result of which a portion of the fluid fails to work
2. Description of the Related Art
However, in all types of turbines, including gas turbines, reversibility is not possible except at a cost of substantial loss of efficiency, while reversing rotation is possible only with the aid of elaborate systems for reversing the pitch of the blades Even here, however, we find only emergency (hence low-efficiency) systems.
Where pumps and compressors are concerned, there is one category having a volumetric efficiency of one, i.e., reciprocating piston pumps and compressors, which do however suffer from the drawback that they have just one alternating flow.
Yet even with machines of this type, we find the same kinds of shortcomings as with turbines, namely, that reversibility is minimal and that it is impossible to reverse the flow.